Federal Member for Newcastle

BUDGET WISH #5: ACTION ON HOUSING AFFORDABILITY

Meaningful action to address housing affordability has been revealed as number five on Federal Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon’s Budget Wish List for 2018.

Ms Claydon said it was time for the Turnbull Government to deliver on the housing affordability centrepiece that it had promised in the 2017 budget.

“This time last year, Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar promised the government’s housing policy package would be ‘extraordinarily large’. He said ‘it will be an impressive package, it will be a well-received package.’

“Instead we got a hodge-podge of measures that will do nothing to address the real problems. It’s no wonder the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute has accused the Government of deliberate neglect when it comes to housing policy.”

Ms Claydon said the situation was getting increasingly dire for many Novocastrians who are trying to buy their first home or find a suitable rental property to live in.

“Newcastle’s median house prices is hovering around $600,000, meaning first homebuyers need to save more than $100,000 just for a deposit.

“At the same time, recent research by the Samaritans found that almost two-thirds of rental properties aren’t affordable for households on the minimum wage. And not a single one of the advertised properties listed in the Newcastle or Lake Macquarie region was deemed affordable for a single person on Newstart or Youth Allowance – even in shared accommodation.

“Meanwhile, the Turnbull Government is steadfastly backing property investors over first home-buyers and other Australians just wanting to put a roof over their heads.”

Ms Claydon said the Government must act on exorbitant negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions for property investors that are costing the Federal Budget billions of dollars each year.

“Negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions skew the market in favour of wealthy investors and drive dangerous speculative price rises that threaten to lock generations of Australians out of home ownership entirely,” Ms Claydon said.

“It’s now time for the Government to back ordinary Australians over wealthy investors and the property lobby and rein in these colossally expensive tax breaks.”

Ms Claydon urged the Turnbull Government to support the measures in Labor’s comprehensive plan to tackle housing affordability.

Ms Claydon is counting down her top ten Budget Wishes in the days leading up to the Federal Budget on Tuesday 8 May.